


The Jumper

by awkwarddinosauce



Category: Zombies Run!
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-31
Updated: 2014-01-31
Packaged: 2018-01-10 16:45:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,547
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1162104
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/awkwarddinosauce/pseuds/awkwarddinosauce
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Spoilers for S2E29.<br/>I dunno about all of you, but I was expecting a bit more from Sam after the run-in with Van Ark. So I used my imagination.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Jumper

There was just one voice Runner Five wanted to hear once Paula had given her the headset. One voice that would make her exhausted, beaten body find the strength to run back to Abel, away from Van Ark and all the horrors that awaited her there. (The way he gazed at her body while she had to run through the thorns, through the zombie swarm, it wasn’t how a normal man looks at a women’s body. No, Van Ark was no normal man. He looked at her body like it was a sandcastle, just waiting to be stepped on and rebuilt. He looked at her like a cruel child looks at a hamster, when it holds the rodent in his hands and then squeezes, just to see the eyes bulge a little bit out of its head. Normal man looks, Runner Five could handle. Not these kind.)

Okay, so maybe just the voice alone wouldn’t make her run as fast as she could from Van Ark, but hearing Sam was definitely a plus.

Trying to push her new Van Ark memories from her mind, as Five ran back to Able she imagined how Sam would react. Would it be like that horrible night, not so long ago, where he stayed up and talked to a broken headset, with just the hope she was still alive? When she finally ran through those gates, and he grasped her in the biggest hug she could ever remember? Or when Nadia tried to have her shot that one time, would Sam be red in the face from rage at Van Ark now?

Runner Five was very quickly disappointed.

“I really want to get this jumper darned. I keep trying to get it done but, all the stitches don’t come out right.”

A jumper.

That’s what Sam was worried about, minutes after she escapes from Van Ark. An area where she would have been tortured, and kept alive for more experiments. Sam was worried about the seams on his stupid hoodie.

Hurdling over a fallen tree, Runner Five found the energy to mutter to herself angrily. “’The runners are having a big feast, you should totally get back for that?’ Oh, is that like, what I should totally do Sam? ‘The DARNING wasn’t right?’ No no, by all means, I was only basically in hell, but hey we all hate it when your sleeves don’t sit quite right on your arms.” Surprisingly, Runner Five found the energy to get back home, but it wasn’t the warm fuzzy feelings she was hoping for.

Simon was a sight for sore eyes when she was about five meters away from Able. “You’re in a quiet mood” Simon said. “I mean, you’re always quiet, I know that’s your thing. Kinda sexy sometimes, if you don’t mind me saying.”

Runner Five just gave him a raised eyebrow. “Get to the point.”

“Well, you’re just a…different… kind of quiet. Are you alright? I mean, I know that sounds stupid, considering what just happened but… did Van Ark… do anything? Do you want to talk about it?”

Five just shook her head. "I'm fine. Exhausted... Shaken... Still a little terrified... Partially pissed off. But... Fine."

“None of those adjectives are usually reserved for ‘fine’, but I’ll take your word for it.” Simon winked at her, and it made Five smile, just a little. Sometimes, he was oddly comforting. “Come on, if we hurry we’ll arrive at the tequila shack first for the runner party.”

“I thought the runner party was in the canteen?” Five said.

“Eh, just the beginning part. The REAL fun is at the shack. Reserved, just for us.”

“Thank God.” Five said. “I have never needed a drink more.”

-

“Runner Five! You’re home!” Sam said, bounding out of the coms shack after the gates lowered. It was all Five could do to not run into his arms, him with his stupid puppy dog grin and stupid smile.

“How’s your jumper?” Five asked, trying to add ice to her tone.

“Huh? Oh!” Sam said, looking at the faded hoodie in his hand. “Well, I’ve almost fixed this hole here, and-“

“Fantastic.” Five said, tossing her headset to him and walking away.

Sam awkwardly caught the headset, fumbling a little and watched as she stomped off towards the hospital. Simon let out a low whistle and looked over to Sam. “What did you do mate?”

-

Five heard a soft tap on her tent flap later that night. “Um, Five? It’s Sam… can… can I talk to you?”

Five put down the 6th Harry Potter book with a sigh, then said “What’s up?”

Sam walked inside the tent, with his arms behind his back looking sheepish. Five just looked at him, not saying anything. (Harry and Dumbledore were discussing major plot points, and that was going to be her distraction from all this gosh-darnnit.)

Sam looked up at Five, smiled, then pulled his stupid jumper out from behind his back. “I mended it.” He said proudly.

Five raised an eyebrow, brought the book back up to her eyes and said “good for you.”

“No, Five, you…” Sam started to say, but looked up to see Five not paying attention. In a quick act he grabbed the book from her and placed it down on the bed. (Spine up so it kept her place.) “Look, this is… right well it’s rather ridiculous… but…erm…”

“What, Sam?” Five asked, looking straight at him.

Sam looked right into Five’s eyes, then said “Okay, so back when you first got here, one of the first few missions you went out on, I offhandedly mentioned my coms shack was chilly. I mean, it’s higgldy-piggldy of materials, everyone knew there was a draft that went through. But on one of your first missions, you brought back this jumper and gave it to me.” Sam handed the hoodie to Five, and she blinked a couple of times. Of course she remembered giving him that sweatshirt, but it was a boring blue and somewhat threadbare. She remembered giving someone who talked her out of every obstacle a meager thank you present, but assumed Sam just tossed it to the side, or gave it to someone else.

“Right, well…one day I snagged it on a nail and it ripped. Just a tiny hole, but right here in the sleeve.” Sam pointed to some mis-matched thread sewn terribly holding the fabric together. “Later that day, Janine sent you on that mission to New Canton… the one where they shot at you and you were gone…you know…”

“All night?” Five finished for him. Sam nodded.

“You were gone all night, and I was just holding onto this jumper, talking into the mike, hoping, praying you could hear me.” He said. “I clung to this, like it was a part of you. In a stupid way… it kinda is…” Sam blushed at this, then continued. “So you came home safe, and everything was fine, and then Nadia… she sent you…” Sam started mumbling his words at this point, not making any verbal sense.

“What?” Five asked kindly, trying to hide her curiosity.

“The day before that… I got this big hole in the back.” Sam turned the jumper to show a somewhat-blue-matching patch in the lower back of the sweater, again with un-even stitching used to sew it in. “I’m not overly superstitious…  but when I got this big of a hole in my jumper, and finally noticed it, that’s when I jumped onto the coms and saw where Nadia had you headed and…” Sam turned red again, and Five couldn’t tell if it was from residual anger from what Nadia had done or more embarrassment. “Well, anyways, I mended the jumper and you were safe. And then…” Sam took a deep breath here, which made Five gulp.

Sam looked right into Five’s eyes and said “for all of your missions, every single one, I have worn this jumper. Which is probably why it’s so faded… and I have some marmite stains on the cuffs here… but…it’s actually my favourite jumper. It fits me perfect, it keeps me warm… I love this jumper.” He blushed again and looked back down at his feet. He then took a deep breath, and continued with his story. “Then, earlier today, everything was going fine. But then I moved my arm a certain way, and… I dunno Five… the whole sleeve just ripped right up! From my hand to my shoulder!” Sam rotated the jumper once more to show the white thread used to stitch the sleeve back together. “And five minutes after it ripped… that’s when Van Ark showed up and… all I could think was it was my fault-“

Sam didn’t get any further in his explanation because Five had leapt off her cot and gripped him in a hug. Sam staggered backwards at first from surprise, but quickly recuperated and threw his arms around Five.

“I’m sorry.” He said. “All I could think of was getting you back home to me. And the only control I had over any of it was my jumper. It’s stupid, I know, but-“

“Shh.” Five said, putting her face inches from Sam’s, and without another word pressed her lips to his.


End file.
